The terms 'bracket' and 'mantel' clocks are not synonymous The bracket clock, was made to stand on a decorative, matching bracket fixed to the wall Bracket clocks were introduced about 1670, but the mantelshelf as a normal feature of a fireplace first appeared about 50 years later: with it came the mantel clock The design of bracket clocks changed with contemporary fashion Between 1670 and 1690, square-dial clocks in ebonised pedimented cases were followed by basket-top clocks Then came the arch dial, the inverted bell (about 1720) and then the true bell top about the middle of the century Next came the break-arch case, the balloon clock, the lancet top, the arch top and, the chamfer top